History and the Pilate Routine

History.

Read it as a child.

Enjoyed it in high school

Majored in it for college.

Focused on it in seminary.

Been reading it all my life.

A joy to keep probing the dots.

And follow the lines that connect them.

But a burden, too.

I look at others, and note the absence of history.

The absence of the times.

The absence of the present mess, crisis, and whatever.

For them, sweet Elysian fields.

Platitudes and campfires.

Bible verses and cute stories.

The intricacies of dogma - what fun.

S'mores and laughter.

Fun and games.

Middle Class comfort and easy going.

Christian solace and the sweet by-and-by.

Praise God for our ease.

As for:

The Pandemic?

BLM?

Protests?

Environmental disasters?

Income inequality?

And a thousand other realities, truths, hardships, and pains.

The Pilate routine works just fine:

Wash hands.

Shake head.

Walk away.

Clean hands feel good.

Shaking the head seems so astute.

Walking away - comfy.

Damn.

The history muses won't let me alone.

I keep seeing the dots.

And all the lines.

And all the pain and sorrow.

I had a history teacher in high school.

He once scrawled on the black board.

With great drama.

Drama I've never gotten:

HISTORY = HIS STORY.

Well, maybe not HIS.

But certainly God's story.

A story unfolding.

In every season under heaven.

And to think about God, at least for me.

Is to be a student of God's Story.

A student of history.

I cannot do the Pilate thing.

Though what I do is never enough.

But a little work is better than nothing.

And I will do my little work.

For as long as I can.

And in some small way,

I hope that I am following the call of Christ.

The words of the prophets.

And the lives and hope of everyone.

Devoted to seeing the dots.

And connecting them.

For the sake of truth.

For the sake of faith, hope, and love.

For the sake of grace, mercy, and peace.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Mother, Daughter, and Holy Love.

All that's right and good.

Strong and lovely.

Bright and beautiful.

Great and small.

For the story.

That:

We Shall Overcome!

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*Dedicated to Heather Cox Richardson ... and those historians of past and present who will not rest on their laurels, but press on to know the truth, who stir the pot and keep us disturbed.

Of Wheat and Weeds ...

"We're not against the ones that work,' the writer said.

... in response to a piece I wrote about the GOP and it's irrational fear of someone somewhere getting a handout.

I've been thinking a great deal about the response, with some questions: Does anyone not work? Even street people work hard all day long, with their limited means of mind and body and soul to survive. I guess folks on the bottom of the heap who might turn to crime might be a problem, but there numbers aren't all that high. Who in the world doesn't work?

Who in the world lays around all day? Enjoying a government handout? (We could have some fun with this one ... visit a high-end gated community, or country club - but, hey, they work hard, too ... and much of their work depends heavily on government handouts - but that's a discussion for another day.

As I thought about the writer's comment, a Jesus Parable came to mind - the wheat and the weeds (Matthew 23.24-30).

When the weeds were discovered, the workers were eager to get into the fields and pull 'em up, but the owner offered wise advice. "We have to wait until the harvest; if we try to separate them now, we'll pull up the good with the bad and ruin the entire field."

Right now, conservatives are fretting and fussing about the "weeds" as they see them, and their running two and fro across the fields trying to pull out the weeds, and they're yanking up the wheat along with the weeds.

In the end, says Jesus, to his all-too eager disciples, "we can trust history; it'll work itself out. In the end, we'll know, but for now, let 'em all grow together."

With regard to immigration, we have slowed it down, and if we identify criminals, deport them. But right now, we're yanking up the good with the bad, whole fields of humanity, entire families and communities, and for every "weed" we'er pulling up, we're yanking up thousands of viable wheat plants.

We're behaving with the worst kinds of instincts, driven by irrational fears and anger at these "strangers in our midst." Spiritually and politically, Jesus offers sage counsel.